Class Notes: Knitting Beyond the Basics: Shell Wk 4

We had the wonderful privilege of viewing the presidential hooked rugs. They are amazing!

Cabled Gourd Next Week
The pattern for the cabled gourd was sent out by email this week by Linda L. Don't forget to prepare your gourd for knitting: sanding, buffing, burning design (optional), adding shoe polish or stain. Details are in last week's blog. You will need to bring the following items: crochet hook E, cable needle, worsted wt yarn, six size 8 dpns (not a bad idea to bring size 7 or 9 dpns too).

Linda explained the type of gourds used and the step by step process of cutting them for this project. Cannonball gourds are used, and they can be bought at Davis Ranch in Sluice House.

Shell Patterns
Linda briefly went over the patterns again.

Mosaic: CO 240 to knit in the round.

Grid: Can be converted to knit in the round.

Ribbed: Can be knitted in the round. Adjust the amount of CO stitches since 1-2 stitches were part of the seam allowance if not knitted in the round. Do not need to use ribbon yarn; any ww yarn will do.

Rouche: Rosemary brought two of her sweater samples. One was made with worsted weight yarn, and the other was knitted with Marble yarn. She left out the key hole in one of them.

Sweaters
There are two more classes before the sweater patterns will be introduced.

Tea Hostess
Do we want tea? Linda is looking for a tea hostess to sign up each week to take care of getting the tea box out at the beginning of class, filling the tea pot during class, and putting the box away at the end of class. Thank you to Debi, who bought an electric tea maker for class and brought mini canisters of loose tea.

Christmas Party
Our traditional Christmas party with the potluck and gift exchange will not be held on the last class of the session this year. It will be held on Dec. 5, the second to the last class for a good reason.

Last Class
The last class is Dec. 12, and Linda's sister, Nola, will be visiting. Nola will be teaching a wool applique class for $25 which includes the kit of either a Halloween bucket or a sunflower. You will need to bring a couple of items (I think she said sewing needles and scissors). A sample

Apology
Linda apologized to each of us, especially the presidential knitters (about the reaction to the emails). She was very frustrated during the week. Her decision is for all of the presidents to be presented in Colfax, and then she will return the presidents to the ones who want them back. The knitted presidents that have been released to Linda will go on to New Jersey (and then to Kansas). Linda explained the reason for not including all of them at the NJ exhibit. The reason is there will be curators from other museums who may want to make their museum the permanent home for them. The curators may think they are getting the exact set on display, so we need to show the ones they will be receiving. We will be replicating the ones that will be returned to their owners, even though it will not be the same as the original. Some of the ladies have volunteered to help; please let Linda know if you would like to help replicate one or some.

This past week Linda contacted the curator of the Daughters of the American Revolution museum to see if they would be interested in giving the knitted presidents a permanent home. Linda L. also found two other museums (one in TX and one in VA) that showcase not just one but all of the presidents that Linda may look into. Linda will ask us beforehand if we approve of the museum that they go to.

By the way, Linda received a note that we won a special award from Sauder Village for making their summer special. I think the award will be mailed shortly.

　
Show and Tell

Linda's beginning crochet class are making these cute stackable bowls.

Linda's bead knitting class is making this beautiful pouch. She announced that she will be teaching this project using five different kinds of beads in the Thursday night class in the Fall of 2014.